Can Weight Lifting, Regular Exercise and/or Whey Protein Intake Cause Hair Loss?

[Bill - Seemiller]

Regular exercise, resistance training and a healthy diet is indicative of a healthy lifestyle? But can these regular healthy living activities cause or contribute to hair loss? I recently wrote the article "Does Regular Exercise and Weight Lifting Cause Hair Loss?".

 

What are your thoughts on this topic?

[Gettinold]

From my understanding, and I'm no doctor, that this produces blood flow and "good" testosterone, and it may actually decrease the effects of aging, such as turning that "good" testosterone into DHT. That is genetic, which is why many experts have said that people who start balding early in life may be more suseptible to prostate cancer, which can also be caused by DHT. There are plenty of supplements out there for males over a certain age that work with the body to produce this "good" testosterone, that due to lack of phyical activity, and the levels of garbage that our in our anything-but-natural foods that we all eat nowadays, to slow the hairloss, weight gain, and general unhealthiness that come with age and our bodies not producing enough testosterone.

 

I also dont see how protein could cause that, since this has been known for years that protein intake is very healthy....the only thing that I can maybe see having an effect is that most proteins out there are whey protein isolate, which undergoes far more unnatural processing than concentrate, and it's most likely the effects of this processing that may have any adverse effects, and also the conjunstion of unhealthy, unnatural crap like sucralose that is in so many protein shakes and health shakes nowadays. That's why I switched to an all-natural brand. Just my 2 cents, I could be completely off my rocker..

[zenmunk]

Doubtful that Whey Protein raises testosterone or causes hair loss.

 

"Whey is left over when milk coagulates and contains everything that is soluble from milk. It is a 5% solution of lactose in water, with some minerals and lactalbumin. It is removed after cheese is processed. The fat is removed and then is processed for human foods...Whey protein is the collection of globular proteins isolated from whey, a by-product of cheese manufactured from cow's milk." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whey_protein

 

Based on the above description, I venture to say Whey will raise testosterone or cause hair loss as much as milk or cheese.

 

Resistance training can raise testosterone, but according to Dr. Jeffrey Rawnsley, clinical associate professor of facial and plastic surgery at UCLA and director of the Rawnsley Hair Restoration Clinic:

 

"Testosterone is converted to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which can shrink hair follicles in genetically susceptible individuals. However, because of the extended duration of hair growth cycles (three to five years), it is unlikely that this effect would be seen soon after starting a weight lifting program. In addition, weight lifting causes a transient increase in testosterone after each weight lifting session, which is not likely to have a long term effect on hair loss.

 

"On the other hand, weight lifters taking anabolic steroids or supplements designed to increase testosterone levels could see an acceleration of normal male pattern hair loss if they are genetically predisposed. In addition, supplements containing too much vitamin A could contribute to hair loss.

 

"So it is very unlikely that [a] weight lifting program...[contributes] to hair loss. More likely, [one's] hair has been thinning over time and [one is] beginning to notice as a critical level has been reached, usually about 50 percent, according to Rawnsley.

 

"If [one is] very concerned, [one] may want to consider Propecia, a popular treatment for hair loss, which blocks the formation of DHT and can slow or even reverse hair loss in some cases." - Source

 

 

 

Here's a

by a guy who claims to have extensive experience with Whey. In the video, he debunks claims that Whey causes hair loss and criticizes Dr. Shapiro's shake.

 

Gettinold - I've read in numerous places (such as here) that whey protein isolate is a superior product in terms of purity and protein content.

 

Of course, not all isolates are created equal. It seems cold pressed, cross-flow microfiltration is better. - Source

 

I haven't heard of the "unnatural processing" of isolate. Do you have source material for that?

 

Edited April 10, 2012 by zenmunk

[Bill - Seemiller]

Thanks for everyone's input on this topic so far.

 

Anyone else have any input they'd like to share?

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[dingdong12]

what a double edge sword it would be if it did !!

 

no hair or a unfit body . what would you opt for?

[aaron1234]

I have seen some before and after pictures from body builders who are far more bald in their after pics. Must be the steroids. I do think this topic warrants a scientific study.

[michaeljames]

From my understanding, and I'm no doctor, that this produces blood flow and "good" testosterone, and it may actually decrease the effects of aging, such as turning that "good" testosterone into DHT. That is genetic, which is why many experts have said that people who start balding early in life may be more suseptible to prostate cancer, which can also be caused by DHT. There are plenty of supplements out there for males over a certain age that work with the body to produce this "good" testosterone, that due to lack of phyical activity, and the levels of garbage that our in our anything-but-natural foods that we all eat nowadays, to slow the hairloss, weight gain, and general unhealthiness that come with age and our bodies not producing enough testosterone.

 

I also dont see how protein could cause that, since this has been known for years that protein intake is very healthy....the only thing that I can maybe see having an effect is that most proteins out there are whey protein isolate, which undergoes far more unnatural processing than concentrate, and it's most likely the effects of this processing that may have any adverse effects, and also the conjunstion of unhealthy, unnatural crap like sucralose that is in so many protein shakes and health shakes nowadays. That's why I switched to an all-natural brand. Just my 2 cents, I could be completely off my rocker..

 

Hey Mate,

 

As I've heard before, Lifting weight in itself doesn’t increase hair loss. However, resistance training causes muscle tissue to break down. That muscle tissue has to be repaired, right? The body synthesizes dietary protein into amino acids and building blocks (other proteins) that result in muscle cell regeneration and growth.

 

Michael James is a patient advocate for HT, and not a physician. Comments give here are only for intellectual consideration and in no manner to be construed or accepted as medical advice. It is important to seek the advice of a physician in all medical circumstances including hair restoration, dietary or others directly or indirectly related to the subjects in this forum.

Edited May 15, 2012 by michaeljames
additional comment

[bonkerstonker]

I use soy protein just incase I felt a spurt of hair loss a few years ago was due to protein or generic finasteride they were the only things I'd changed just before my loss.

[Silemani]

There is a definite increase in balding guys in the gym vs the public but i dont think thats because exercise causes you to be bald i think its because of 2 main reasons:

 

1/ alot of men who are seriously ito body building/training have done cycles of anabolic steroids which are sceintifically known to increase MPB (massive spikes in testosterone and its breakdown product DHT are inevitable when you shot up steroids)

 

2/ Men who start losing hair often compensate by getting as buff as threy can get haha

[Al - Moderator]

I'm going to disagree. Working out has always caused my hair to fall out faster. I've never taken any kind of steroids, protein shakes, muscle building pills, etc. and I'm not on any medication. From back when I was 15 or 16 and just starting to lift weights in high school (I wanted t be a body builder) my hair fallout has always noticebly increased when I was working out. It would start maybe a week after I begin working out and the speeded up fallout rate would continue for a few months until I got so depressed that I'd stop working out. Then the fallout would slow down. This went on for years. I even stopped working out for several years and that was the slowest rate of fallout I ever had. Over the last few years I've been trying to lift weights again and of course the fallout increased again and slowed again when I stopped. At this point, I'm now 45 and don't have much hair left, so I'm more concerned about my body looking good since there was never anything I could do about the hair. I've been working out on a regular basis for about a year, which is the longest non stop time I've ever been doing it, and my hair fallout has increased ever since and has not stopped. I am completely convinced that my hair falls out faster when I lift weights or work out.

[Blake Bloxham]

I've never personally seen or read anything to make me believe there is a conclusive link between weightlifting, protein (whey or otherwise) and hair loss. However, I'd always be careful when trying any "extreme" weight/muscle gain supplements for a variety of reasons.

[akuma]

I'm going to disagree. Working out has always caused my hair to fall out faster. I've never taken any kind of steroids, protein shakes, muscle building pills, etc. and I'm not on any medication. From back when I was 15 or 16 and just starting to lift weights in high school (I wanted t be a body builder) my hair fallout has always noticebly increased when I was working out. It would start maybe a week after I begin working out and the speeded up fallout rate would continue for a few months until I got so depressed that I'd stop working out. Then the fallout would slow down. This went on for years. I even stopped working out for several years and that was the slowest rate of fallout I ever had. Over the last few years I've been trying to lift weights again and of course the fallout increased again and slowed again when I stopped. At this point, I'm now 45 and don't have much hair left, so I'm more concerned about my body looking good since there was never anything I could do about the hair. I've been working out on a regular basis for about a year, which is the longest non stop time I've ever been doing it, and my hair fallout has increased ever since and has not stopped. I am completely convinced that my hair falls out faster when I lift weights or work out.

 

I agree with this. I've noticed the same thing with myself. BUT maybe it is just speeding up the hair cycles. The hairs that have stopped growing and resting (about to fall out) fall out sooner because new hairs are coming. The follicles sleep for less period of time.

 

There is something i DEFINITELY noticed. When I exercise, my beard and side burns hairline grow SO much better. I am guess this is to better circulation and increased HGH from exercise (HGH produces better hair). The beard and sideburn "hairlines" become quite thick and the line is very strong. When i dont exercise, the sideburns and beard hairlines become less sharp. And when i feel the hairs, it feels softer. And sparse (not alot). But I can definitely notice the difference. I've experimented with this many times and its consistent. I even took pics to check the before and after results. Exercises such as weight lifting and intense cycling helps my beard grow thicker and side burns grow thicker as well. Since these areas dont miniturise from DHT, from what i know, the beard grows thicker from the DHT. So the extra testosterone produced from doing weight lifting is making my beard thicker. And the better circulation making my side burns grow better (probably other areas too). As for the top head hair, i do notice a bit extra shedding when i work out. But as i said above, this COULD be just from speeding up the hair cycles. Because when i exercise, I definitely find myself shaving more often and getting hair cuts more often.

 

I dont shed alot so i cant say if its contributes hairloss.

 

I just work out enough to stay built and healthy. I do not take any steroids or workout as a body builder. I do think too much testosterone (from too much body building) does affect hair follicles more. More testosterone, more DHT. So I just workout enough to be healthy.

Edited May 13, 2012 by akuma